Grilled salmon is topped with a heavenly strawberry-balsamic reduction. Perfect for a week-night dinner!

Happy (belated) Canada Day. Or, Happy (early) 4th of July!

Can you believe it is already July? I’m not really sure what exactly happened to June. I can barely recall it.

The fact that July has snuck up on me is a little frightening because it means that I am almost in my 3rd trimester! So, am I all ready for the munchkin’s arrival…um…NO.

Let’s see…I have…some onsies.

Last week, I had a mild panic attack when browsing a checklist for things to have for when the baby arrives. Holy guacamole, there is a lot of stuff, and as a first time parent, it’s hard to gauge which items are essential and which are not. After taking a deep breath, I thought, just take it one item at a time.

Item number one. Crib. Definitely an essential item, right? So off we were to Ikea, on a Saturday, to the kid’s department. It. Was. A. Zoo. A preview of the next 5 years of our lives was flashing right before Ben and I. Oh my.

We ended up leaving, crib-less, and will probably get one used on Kijiji. So, we have yet to cross anything off our list. Baby steps. Ha! That was kind of a pun!

Ok, so you’re probably not here to read about my adventures at Ikea. Hopefully you’ve been drawn in by these images of gorgeous orange salmon and red strawberries.

How on Earth did I get to the salmon-balsamic-strawberry combination? Hear me out:

salmon + balsamic vinegar = 🙂

balsamic vinegar + strawberries = 🙂

therefore strawberries + salmon must = 🙂

So you see, it all comes down to math.

Would you believe that I have made this same recipe 3 times in the past month? It seemed for awhile there that every time I made the recipe, I was a) too tired or b) it decided to go pitch black with some sort of rainstorm/flood apocalypse that made it almost impossible to photograph.

We really didn’t mind eating this dish three times over. There were never any left-overs. Every last shred of salmon and every last drop of strawberry-balsamic reduction was gone.

I know you might be thinking that it looks like a lot of sauce for the salmon, but trust me: you’re going to want it all. And whatever you happen to serve it with (I recommend roasted potatoes and veggies) you will use to sop up every last drop of this reduction. It is so good!

Plus: salmon is full of omega 3 fatty acids. For building a smart baby :D.

I just made this tonight for dinner in my dorm. It was downright yummy. Sadly, I had no grill so I did my fish in a pan. It was still really tasty though. I served it with maple and mustard whipped sweet potatoes and a lightly dressed kale salad with slivered almonds and dried cranberries. This was my first recipe from Sweetpeas and Saffron. I’ll be looking here for more recipes to make soon <3

Did a repeat of this dish now that I’m back home for winter break. My parents adored it. The strawberries looked bad in the market so I substituted it with cranberries and it was delightful.

I served it this time with Bacon and Kale saute and a Parsnip Puree. It was much loved by both of my parents. I hope the weather will clear up so I can try doing this on the grill for once, but it’s still a tasty dish.

just made this with all the ingredients, just was not super careful about amounts. let the berries for about 5 minutes, as i wanted them a little softer. served over some arugula and with bagette and soft white cheese. my man ate it right up. very tasty. will add to my box. thanks